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convert1

[verb kuh n-vurt; noun kon-vurt]
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verb (used with object)
  1. to change (something) into a different form or properties; transmute; transform.
  2. to cause to adopt a different religion, political doctrine, opinion, etc.: to convert the heathen.
  3. to turn to another or a particular use or purpose; divert from the original or intended use: They converted the study into a nursery for the baby.
  4. to modify (something) so as to serve a different function: to convert an automobile factory to the manufacture of tanks.
  5. to obtain an equivalent value for in an exchange or calculation, as money or units of measurement: to convert bank notes into gold; to convert yards into meters.
  6. Finance. to exchange voluntarily (a bond or preferred stock) into another security, usually common stock, because of the greater value of the latter.
  7. to change in character; cause to turn from an evil life to a righteous one: to convert a criminal.
  8. Chemistry. to cause (a substance) to undergo a chemical change: to convert sugar into alcohol.
  9. to invert or transpose.
  10. Law.
    1. to assume unlawful rights of ownership of (personal property).
    2. to change the form of (property), as from realty to personalty or vice versa.
  11. to appropriate wrongfully to one's own use.
  12. Logic. to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion.
  13. Computers. to subject to conversion.
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verb (used without object)
  1. to become converted.
  2. Football. to make a conversion.
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noun
  1. one who has been converted, as to a religion or opinion.
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Origin of convert1

1250–1300; Middle English converten < Latin convertere to change completely, equivalent to con- con- + vertere to turn round (see verse); convert (noun) replacing converse, Middle English convers (< Anglo-French) < Latin; see converse2
Related formscon·ver·tive, adjective

Synonyms

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1. See transform. 2. proselytize. 16. proselyte, neophyte, disciple.

convert2

[kon-vurt]
noun Informal.
  1. a convertible automobile.
  2. a convertible bond.
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Origin of convert2

by shortening of convertible
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for convert

convert

verb (kənˈvɜːt) (mainly tr)
  1. to change or adapt the form, character, or function of; transform
  2. to cause (someone) to change in opinion, belief, etc
  3. to change (a person or his way of life, etc) for the better
  4. (intr) to admit of being changed (into)the table converts into a tray
  5. (also intr) to change or be changed into another chemical compound or physical stateto convert water into ice
  6. law
    1. to assume unlawful proprietary rights over (personal property)
    2. to change (property) from realty into personalty or vice versa
  7. (also intr) rugby to make a conversion after (a try)
  8. logic to transpose the subject and predicate of (a proposition) by conversion
  9. to change (a value or measurement) from one system of units to another
  10. to exchange (a security or bond) for something of equivalent value
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noun (ˈkɒnvɜːt)
  1. a person who has been converted to another belief, religion, etc
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Derived Formsconvertive, adjective

Word Origin

C13: from Old French convertir, from Latin convertere to turn around, alter, transform, from vertere to turn
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for convert

v.

c.1300, from Old French convertir, from Vulgar Latin *convertire, from Latin convertere "turn around, transform," from com- "together" (see com-) + vertere "to turn" (see versus). Originally in the religious sense. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by gecyrren, from cierran "to turn, return." Related: Converted; converting.

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n.

1560s, from convert (v.). Earlier was convers (early 14c.).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper